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'The CIA’s relationship with its front organizations has often been depicted in the imagery of musical recitation or theatrical performance. The Agency has variously been portrayed as playing the keys of a giant organ, pulling the strings of marionettes, or calling the tune of a piper. Whatever the metaphor, the implication is the same: from behind the scenes, the spies exercised complete control over the recipients of their covert largesse. What do we now know about the Mighty Wurlitzer? Modeled on the communist front, and powered by the natural energy of American associationalism, the CIA’s covert network was constructed by a group of elite men whose innate dislike of big government and official secrecy was offset by their hatred of communism and unquestioning belief in the moral righteousness of their own actions. Having failed in one of its original purposes, the mobilization of eastern-bloc émigrés to liberate the “captive nations,” the network was increasingly employed instead to prevent the communization of, first, western Europe, then such regions of the developing world as Southeast Asia, South America, and Africa... the early influence on front operations of ex-communist ideologues gave way to a liberal, internationalist emphasis on development and modernization, with many of the citizen groups involved also active in social movements and minority struggles on the home front.'

'The Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others was adopted by the United Nations on December 2, 1949, one year after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in a climate of humanistic hope following the Second World War. The 1949 Convention was the result of an abolitionist and feminist struggle in England, begun and led by Josephine Butler in 1866. Whereas slavery had just been abolished in most of the European countries, Josephine Butler considered the system of prostitution to be a contemporary form of slavery that oppressed women and was injurious to humanity in general. The system of the regulation of prostitution, set up under Napoleon III in France, and soon called the “French system,” was established in many European countries in the name of public health and under the hygienist pretext of combating venereal diseases. French physician, Parent-Duchatelet, 19th century promoter of hygienism and regulation of prostitution, considered prostitution as a “sewerage system” and compared ejaculation to “organic drainage.”'

'Rape has accompanied wars of religion... Rape has accompanied wars of revolution... Rape in warfare is not bound by definitions of which wars are "just" or "unjust." Rape was a weapon of terror as the German Hun marched through Belgium in World War I. Rape was a weapon of revenge as the Russian Army marched to Berlin in World War II. Rape flourishes in warfare irrespective of nationality or geographic location. Rape got out of hand—"regrettably," as the foreign minister was later to say, when the Pakistani Army battled Bangladesh. Rape reared its head as a way to relieve boredom as American GI's searched and destroyed in the highlands of Vietnam. In modern times, rape is outlawed as a criminal act under the international rules of war. Rape is punishable by death or imprisonment under Article 120 of the American Uniform Code of Military Justice. Yet rape persists as a common act of war.'

"His impressive girth, bombast and outlandish costumes made Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring the darling of Allied satirists. As their cities were pummeled to rubble during the war, even the Germans took to contemptuously referring to the head of the Luftwaffe as Der Dicke ("The Thick one"). His comical words, actions and unique fashion sense aside, it should be remembered that Göring was a bona fide war hero who received the coveted Orden Pour le Merite during World War I and was a figure of high importance in the Nazi hierarchy. His place at the center of great events makes Göring worthy of careful study and close scrutiny even today. On May 8, 1945, Göring surrendered to the Americans in full military regalia. Expecting to be treated as the emissary of a defeated people, the Reichsmarschall was shocked when his medals and marshal’s baton were taken away and he was confined in Prisoner of War Camp No. 32, known to its inmates as 'the Ashcan.'"

"Guru Mother Tara is filled with loving kindness and compassion towards you and all living beings; and is looking at you all the time. Nectar beams emitted from her heart enter your body and mind, and purify you. Just as a glass bottle is filled with milk, your body is filled with nectar, purifying all your karma, where all the suffering, sickness and spirit harm come from. Those sufferings collected from beginningless rebirth are completely removed. Your body becomes in the nature of white light, clear, like crystal, and your mind becomes totally pure. Chant the mantra: OM TARE TUTTARE TURE SOHA with this visualization. At the end, recite this extremely powerful prayer for success, not only for mundane success, but for spiritual success, to cease the causes of suffering—delusion and karma—and to attain the path of enlightenment."

"Ilsa and 30 other accused were arraigned before the American military court at Dachau (General Military Government Court for the Trial of War Criminals) in 1947. Prosecuting her was future United States Court of Claims Judge Robert L. Kunzig. She was charged with "participating in a criminal plan for aiding, abetting and participating in the murders at Buchenwald. At least four separate witnesses for the prosecution testified that they had seen Ilsa choose tattooed prisoners, who were then killed, or had seen or been involved in the process of making human-skin lampshades from tattooed skin. On 15 January 1951, the Court pronounced its verdict, in a 111-page long decision... She was convicted of charges of incitement to murder, incitement to attempted murder, and incitement to the crime of committing grievous bodily harm, and on 15 January 1951 was sentenced to life imprisonment and permanent forfeiture of civil rights. Over 60 million people were killed in WWII, including over 300,000 civilians at Hiroshima and Nagasaki."

'Inspired by the 19th and 20th century photography, using historical references to confront the viewer with repetitive human mistakes especially concerning environmental issues, the degradation of human behavior and relationships, the artist brings together antithetical aspects of a regressive society driven by a collective lack of responsibility and low-minded leaders. This ironic Golden Age, generator of mankind’s persistent crisis, is constructed through a series of symbols and alterations, imaginary distortions and intense color interventions that reveal the essence, as well as the causes and effects of where we stand today. Bleeding trees, the tragedy and comedy of violence, greed and carelessness become part of a disordered normality.'

+ abstention from killing living being is one.
+ abstention from stealing others' possession is one.
+ abstention from committing immorally with others' wives and daughters is one
+ abstention from telling lies is one.
+ abstention from taking intoxicants and using addictive drugs is one

'On the 24th of September 1993, Norodom Sihanouk was restored as King of Cambodia through a multiparty democracy under a constitutional monarchy... On the 14th of October 2004, King Norodom Sihamoni was selected by a special nine-member throne council, part of a selection process that was quickly put in place after the abdication of King Norodom Sihanouk a week prior. Sihamoni's selection was endorsed by Prime Minister Hun Sen and National Assembly Speaker Prince Norodom Ranariddh (the king's half brother and current chief advisor), both members of the throne council. He was enthroned in Phnom Penh on 29 October 2004. Annual average GDP growth for the period 2001–2010 was 7.7% making it one of the world's top ten countries with the highest annual average GDP growth.'

"After more than four months of relentless sit-ins and government shutdowns, the leader of the insurrection, Suthep Thaugsuban, has dismantled most of his various protest sites around the capital, retreating to a single encampment in central Bangkok. His supporters are dwindling in number, and so is their appetite for further confrontation. Lumpini Park is the new headquarters of Thailand's failing people’s revolution."

"In the last half of the 20th century, the vast majority of Thailand's rainforest were lost. Millions of villagers in the forest were (sometimes violently) driven from their homes as villages were bulldozed over to make room for eucalyptus plantations... Forest monks in Thailand were on the front line in the battle against logging companies and eucalyptus farmers to preserve Thailand's rainforests."

"One of the world's most famous red-light districts, Patpong is where it all started (Thailand's Go-Go culture). It has even been immortalised in a James Bond chase-sequence... Patpong has long since been usurped as the 'king of the scene' by Soi Cowboy, its counterpart around Sukhumvit."

"Yingluck Shinawatra is the youngest of nine children of Loet and Yindi. Her father was a member of parliament for Chiang Mai. She is a descendant of a former monarch of Chiang Mai through her grandmother, Princess Chanthip na Chiangmai (Great-great-granddaughter of King Thammalangka of Chiang Mai). Yingluck grew up in Chiang Mai and attended Regina Coeli College, a private girls' school, for the lower secondary level, followed by Yupparaj College, a co-educational school, at the upper secondary level. She graduated with a BA degree from the Faculty of Political Science and Public Administration, at Chiang Mai University in 1988 and received a MPA degree (specialization in Management Information Systems) from Kentucky State University in 1991. Yingluck began her career as a sales and marketing intern at Shinawatra Directories Co., Ltd., a telephone directory business founded by AT&T International. She later became the director of procurement and the director of operations. In 1994, she became the general manager of Rainbow Media, a subsidiary of International Broadcasting Corporation (which later became TrueVisions). She left as Deputy CEO of IBC in 2002, and became the CEO of Advanced Info Service (AIS), Thailand's largest mobile phone operator."

"Under Section 508 of the Foreign Assistance Act, the United States is prohibited from continuing to provide military assistance to any country whose elected leader is deposed from power by a coup d'état. Thailand has been a significant recipient of US military assistance in East Asia, and one of the United States' oldest allies in the region. The country is also a Major Non-NATO Ally and is therefore eligible for a number of benefits that facilitate the rapid provision of military assistance. Thailand's coup poses yet another test to the updated US conventional arms transfer policy."